Galeus melastomus Rafinesque 1810 —Blackmouth catshark

Taxonomy. First record from Lebanon as Galeus melastomus Rafinesque 1810 by George & Athanassiou (1966a: 6–7); subsequently recorded as Galeus melastomus Rafinesque by Mouneimné (1977: 60); as Galeus melastomus Rafinesque 1810 by Mouneimné (2002: 49); recently recorded as Galeus melastomus by Lteif (2015: 61). Recent unpublished records from Beirut (24 April 2010) and Sarafand (8 February 2018). Material in collection: AUBM.

Distribution. Baltic Sea, North Sea, Mediterranean Sea, eastern North Atlantic: Faroe Islands and Norway to Senegal.

Conservation. IUCN: Global (LC: 1 October 2003); Med. (LC: 25 March 2016). Capture and threats: FIT, FIB, unknown. Occurrence: Rare. Medium priority for conservation action .